NEEDLE • KNIFE • TORCH [&] BRUSH

coincidence, but on several occasions Roth mentions money
and the Homer Lee Banknote Company. Given these interests,
artistic talent and his unstable mind, the fraud may be tied to
this Joseph Roth.
At the turn of the 19thC and into the 20thC, institutions began
using arts and crafts as occupational therapies—embroidery
was one such craft. In thinking of the patience required for
such involved and ambitious works, one can see how
embroidery would slow down ones racing thoughts. One
cannot frenetically scribble their mad rambling words—the
deliberate action of threading the needle, pushing it through
the obverse and reverse, step and repeat, forces one to
consider their thoughts at a more manageable pace.
It is during this time that we see embroideries and other
artistic creations documented in Europe—most famously by
Dr. Hans Prinzhorn, a German psychiatrist and art scholar.
Because of the materials used, Roth’s work draws comparison
to the work of Lorina Bulwer (1838–1912) who was a British
needleworker and a patient at the Great Yarmouth Workhouse.
Bulwer created embroideries with illustrations and copy also
written all in capital letters and without punctuation to
express her anger at her situation. Agnes Richter (1844-1918)
a patient in a German insane asylum obsessively embroidered
her straight jacket. Roth’s work also conjures up the colorful
and obsessive drawings of Adolf Wölfli (1864-1930) of the
Waldau Clinic in Bern, Switzerland, as well as James Edward
Deeds, Jr. (1908-1987) who was in State House #3 in Missouri.
The textile on the previous page is the earliest recorded and
dates from August 27, 1905. It is entitled, the “REPORT.” It
begins with name of Dr. West (who Roth refers to several
times) and lists a number of vocations; Brikleker (bricklayers),
Stonemeson (stonemason), Sourbuilthers (sewer builders), etc.
Roth then declares that he wants to go into NYC with Dr. West
to the Homer Lee Banknote Company. It ends by Roth stating
that he wants to see President Roosevelt in Washington
[about] “the gold and silver money mashinry [sic].” And signs
the textile, “Joseph Roth = World Erloser (world savior).” Note
that not only does he refer to himself as the redeemer; he
decidedly uses the equals (=) sign!